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Well, the end of the year is quickly approaching which is a great time to recap another great year for our blog. I just wrapped up my fifth year of being editor of the blog and I am excited about some of the changes we’ve seen this year. We did a reorganization of the existing blog categories, added in our commercial blog categories (and with it a new co-editor), and even spent some time improving our SEO so more of you could find and enjoy the content.

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Now without further ado, here are the top blogs from our blog written in 2017!

1. The Paper Check Lives: Why the Check Decline Slowed in 2016

Our top blog for 2017 was actually from a guest blogger, Brad Kvederis from Digital Check Corporation, who gave us an early view on the latest findings from the Federal Reserve’s new payments study. This January blog shared that the check decline slowed dramatically in 2016 from about 2 billion a year over the past 10 years to only .8 billion. Shocking? Sure, not sure many saw that coming. But checks have shown a lot of resilience as a payment method and this further proves that checks aren’t going away anytime soon. Click here to read this blog if you are interested in learning more about the Federal Reserve’s findings or you can read a blog (with accompanying webinar) from industry expert, Glen Sarvady: What’s Next for Checks? A New Deluxe Webinar Offers Data-Driven Answers.

2. Progressive Risk Management: The Three Lines of Defense Model

Risk management is not something to take lightly! Our compliance team shared their three lines of defense model for mitigating risk. All three lines of defense should exist in some form at every organization, regardless of size or complexity – however, the expectations may differ significantly depending on circumstances and regulatory/compliance requirements. Click here to learn more about this popular topic.

3. The Truth About Data: Numbers Don’t Lie, But Everything Fluctuates

Eugene Geis is one of Deluxe’s data scientists who helps our bank, credit union, and lending customers find and target the right consumers and businesses for their products. He stopped by the blog to talk about the importance of data. Data has always been an asset as valuable as cash in the banking industry. Technology and the emergence of big data have made it easier for financial institutions to use the volumes of information at their disposal in new ways. Click here to read this blog and learn how to put data to use in your organization and click here to learn how Deluxe Marketing Solutions can help you.

4. 4 Things You Should Definitely NOT Do At This Year’s Shareholder Meeting

Mega-banks go to great lengths to prepare for annual shareholder meetings because — let’s face it — if someone is angry over a scandal, policy change, acquisition or new CFO, a forum of a few hundred investors and the media is a great place to air their grievances. This isn’t an option for community banks who likely don’t have the staff or the finances to pull off an extravagant shareholder meeting. Click here to learn the four things you shouldn’t do and four more things you should do to have a successful shareholder meeting in 2017 and beyond.

5. How Community Banks Can Up Their Lending Game Against Marketplace Lenders

Marketplace lenders are a unique challenge for bankers, especially community bankers. Its no surprise this was a popular blog from Barry Adcock in 2017. These companies come to the market with a different strategy and approach that seems to be popular among those looking for credit so we dove into what they are doing differently to help banks and credit unions adjust their strategies to compete. Click here if you want to read this blog and get up to speed on marketplace lenders and how to adjust your strategy to compete.

Hopefully, you all have a wonderful end of 2017 and I wish you all a happy new year as you spend time with those you love. Remember to update your subscription and stop our blog throughout the year. We have great things in store for 2018!!